Chapter 58: Ambush in the Forest of Death
Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 58: Ambush in the Forest of Death
"Was that a scream?" Sakura looked back at the sea of trees but could not see anything or anyone there.
"That came from at least half a mile away… forget it. We cannot worry about others." Naruto pulled a scroll and laid it on the ground.
"What are you doing, Naruto? We shouldn't stay here in the open. We should hide, right?" She turned to Sasuke.
The examiners didn't give them any time to discuss strategies after being given their scrolls to protect.
Sakura moved nervously and touched her belt pouch.
'Why did they leave it with me?' She would have preferred one of them to carry it instead, but could not say no to Sasuke's request. She understood that when it came to combat, she was going to be of little use compared to her teammates.
Sasuke glanced at the scroll Naruto had pulled out and realized it was a storage one.
"Please, tell me you didn't just stop to get food."
Naruto pressed on the center of the scroll and a black kanji appeared after detecting his chakra signature. A second later, a large bundle came out of the scroll.
He smiled while seeing this. It reminded him of a different time when he would use his storage rings to keep all his possessions neatly organized.
Storage scrolls were nowhere near that convenient, but it was better than having nothing.
It was unlikely for him to get his hands on a storage ring in this mortal world, though. Crafting one was also out of the realm of possibilities. Even if he somehow could acquire the necessary materials, he lacked the skills and knowledge of a Rune Master to build it.
'Maybe if I study this 'Fuuinjutsu' discipline, I may figure out how to make something a bit better than these scrolls. But in the meantime, I'll have to be patient and make do with what they have here.' He picked up the bundle and opened it up.
Inside it were his new sets of kunai and shuriken, as well as the sword he had recently acquired. It was a very simple one-sided straight blade with a steel guard and a brown leather handle.
"You got a sword?" Sasuke stared at the simple blade with mild interest. He had never seen Naruto show any interest in other types of weapons.
"I just began learning it. I can barely call myself an apprentice," Naruto gave him a short answer since there wasn't much more he could add.
He only had a couple of days to study the Uzumaki Sword Style left behind by his mother and had only had time to grasp the surface while incorporating some of his old knowledge. Calling himself an apprentice...already seemed too much.
"Naruto, this is not the best place to get some practice, maybe you sh—"
"Shhh!" Sasuke interrupted her and made a gesture for them to keep quiet.
He held one of his kunai and looked towards the trees.
Naruto was also able to pick up a few subtle noises. Whoever was stalking them was at least skilled in concealing themselves.
He also picked up one of his kunai and waited for what was coming next.
'As I thought… they came for me first.' Naruto sensed movement behind him.
He concluded that the ambusher would consider Sasuke as the most dangerous foe and would not want to risk attacking him first, since that would have a lower chance of succeeding and thus waste their surprise factor.
Sakura must have been considered too low of a threat to waste their ambush on her.
That left Naruto as the best target.
"Careful!" Sasuke shouted a warning when he noted something moving next to Naruto.
"Foolish…" He twisted his body around to face his attacker.
It was a young man with long black hair and a breathing mask covering most of his face.
He tried to stab Naruto in the neck before this one could react.
His stealth skills were top-notch, but his combat ones were very lacking, at least as far as Naruto was concerned.
'You are filled with openings…'
Naruto deflected the attack with his right hand after passing the kunai to his left one. Then, he countered with his own stab to the man's neck.
"Urggg!" The enemy ninja's eyes widened and were filled with shock and horror at the realization of what happened. He took several steps back while using his hands to press his neck wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
He could not understand what went wrong. He did not make any mistakes, and his ambush skills were the best in his class… now he was dying in a foreign village.
The genin moved his eyes towards the trees. His teammates may still be able to save him, but he could not speak.
"So your friends are up there."
He heard Naruto's voice, but when he looked for him, he was unable to find him.
Before he could do anything else, he felt a strong pressure on the back of his head and everything went dark.
Sakura gasped when she saw Naruto pick up his sword, get behind the enemy genin, and stab him through the back of the head.
Sasuke gave the corpse a quick glance, not really looking too bothered by it.
"He bears the symbol of the Rain Village…"
"His teammates must be close by, likely in the trees." Naruto looked around but could not find anything.
"Kukuku… what a cruel genin, you killed him without hesitation…" A female voice came out of nowhere and taunted him.
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